What happens between placing an order and the parcel arriving, including the parts that go wrong.
Dispatch
Orders placed before the daily cut off are dispatched the same working day. Orders after it go the next working day. The cut off is stated at checkout, and if an order is going to miss it for any reason we tell you rather than let you find out from the tracking.
Cold chain items
Compounds requiring frozen or refrigerated storage ship with a gel pack and insulated packaging. These orders go out early in the week so nothing sits in a depot over a weekend, which is the most common cause of a cold chain item arriving warm.
If you are ordering a cold chain item and know you will not be able to receive it, say so and we will hold it until you can. Better for everybody than a vial sitting in a hallway.
Packaging
The outer packaging is plain and carries no indication of the contents beyond the address and tracking label. Inside, everything is labelled with the compound, quantity and batch reference.
Tracking
A tracking number is issued at dispatch and sent by email. All orders travel on a tracked service. If tracking has not updated within twenty four hours of dispatch, contact us rather than waiting. A parcel that has not scanned is worth chasing early.
International orders
We ship internationally case by case, and only where the compound can lawfully be imported for research use at the destination. Send the destination and the compound and we will confirm before you order rather than after. Customs charges and import duties are the responsibility of the recipient.
Returns
Because these are laboratory reagents with defined storage conditions, we cannot accept the return of a product once dispatched. Once a vial has left our control we have no way of verifying how it has been handled, and reintroducing it to stock would compromise the traceability the rest of this site is built on.
That is a firm position and we would rather state it plainly here than bury it in the terms.
Damaged, incorrect or missing orders
If a parcel arrives damaged, if the contents do not match the order, or if a cold chain item has clearly arrived warm, contact us within forty eight hours with the batch reference and a photograph. We will replace it or refund it. This is the exception to the returns position above and we apply it without argument.
If a parcel does not arrive at all, contact us once tracking has shown no movement for three working days. We will open a claim with the carrier and resolve it with you directly rather than making you wait for their process.